Jul 20 2007
From The Space Library
NASA announced that it had begun testing two NASA robots in the Arctic Circle in preparation for a return to the Moon in 2020. For the mission to the Moon, scientists would need autonomous robots that could perform activities unsuitable for humans and could respond quickly to human commands. On 12 July, the research team had arrived at Haughton Crater at Devon Island, Canada, with two test robots—K10 Black and K10 Red. NASA planned to operate the robots until 31 July. The robots carried 3-D laser scanners, capable of mapping topographic features from 3,280 feet (1,000 meters), and ground-penetrating radar, which could map below ground to a distance of 16.4 feet (5 meters). The robots navigated using GPS, STEREO cameras, laser scanners, and Sun trackers. For the practice session, the robots conducted a survey of an area called Drill Hill in Haughton Crater. Researchers sent commands to the robots from a base camp more than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) away from Drill Hill. The key objective of the research expedition was to test the robots’ instruments and software, as well as the equipment and software that humans could potentially use to supervise the robots at lunar outposts. Scientists had chosen Haughton Crater as the test site because of its extreme environmental conditions, lack of infrastructure and resources, and geologic features. Haughton Crater bears geographic similarities to Shackleton Crater at the south pole of the Moon—both are impact craters measuring approximately 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter.
NASA, “NASA Robots Practice Moon Survey in the Arctic Circle,” news release 07-163, 20 July 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/jul/HQ_07163_Ames_Lunar_Sim_Robot_Survey.html (accessed 8 June 2010); Stefanie Olsen, “NASA Tests Lunar Robots in Arctic Crater,” CNET News.com, 20 July 2007, http://news.cnet.com/NASA-tests-lunar-robots-in-Arctic-crater/2100-11397_3-6198044.html?tag=mncol (accessed 8 July 2010).
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